Nov 16 (Reuters) - Reuters has documented at least 12 cases of prescient messages about major Indian companies being posted in private WhatsApp groups.

Below are examples of the numbers being circulated with an explanation of local market abbreviations and terms.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not respond to requests for comment. WhatsApp responded to a request for comment by pointing to its terms of services, which state users can use the platform only for “legal, authorized, and acceptable purposes”.

DR. REDDY’S:

POSTED MESSAGE (July, 24, 2017)

“Fwd HOS: Dr reddy to report loss of more than 50cr vs exp of 280 to 300cr pat. No one offs”

(Forwarded Heard on the Street: Dr. Reddy’s to report a loss of over 500 million rupees ($7.7 million) vs expectations of an after tax profit of 2.8 to 3 billion rupees. No one off items.)

COMPARISON WITH OFFICIAL RESULTS:

On a consolidated basis under Indian accounting standards, Dr. Reddy’s posted a loss of 587 million rupees. The message had forecast a loss of more than 500 million rupees.

HDFC BANK:

POSTED MESSAGE (July, 21, 2017)

“Hearing Hdfc Bank PAT @ 3900 crs & 1.25 GNPA vs 1.04”

(Profit after tax will be 39 billion rupees and gross non-performing asset ratio will be at 1.25 percent vs 1.04 percent.)

“Consensus estimate is 3950 crs. Our estimate is 3973 crs so 3900 is not a good number. Numbers on Monday.”